DayTrippers - A Surreal Science Fiction Reality-Hopping RPG

[As If]

In some sun-bleached barn outside Sacramento, a group of physicists, shady g-men, grad-students, tourists and an array of amateur explorers and nü-gonzo-revivalist writer-dudes gather around a collection of strange vehicles that resemble lunar landers. Each is painted a garish colour and prepped to "slip" into a crazy new plane of existence. These are the voyages of the DayTrippers.

Now available in Print and PDF...

DayTrippers Core Rules
and
DayTrippers GameMasters Guide

DayTrippers is a sci-fi RPG portraying a surrealistic near-future multiverse, in which an assortment of colorful character classes pilot unique machines into dream worlds and pocket universes to retrieve items of value and bring them back home. Written by Tod Foley (author of Cyberspace, Ghosts in the Machine, and Watch the World Die), the DayTrippers milieu was inspired by the surrealistic fiction of Moebius, Michael Moorcock, Rudy Rucker, Stanley Weinbaum, Robert Heinlein, Jack Vance and other masters of weirdness.

The game can be approached in either of two playstyles: The first (using the Core Rules only) is a "GM-Lite" configuration featuring collaborative adventure design with a more "Narrativist" playstyle. The second (using both the Core Rules and the GameMasters Guide) is a high-but-sketchy-prep "trad" approach for Auteur GMs, optimized for high improv and high bleed. In both cases, a DayTrippers adventure is designed as a "one-shot" or an "episode" with a storylike narrative arc.

The DayTrippers Gamemasters Guide blends modern and traditional gamemastering techniques with the random input of oracular systems and the spontaneously-generative approach of surrealist art, and includes over 70 oracle tables for improvisation and prep. It's a toolkit for science fiction adventure, and a valuable addition to any GM's library - whether used for a home DayTrippers campaign or as a resource for other science fiction game systems.

You can find the DayTrippers Core Rules and the DayTrippers GameMasters Guide at DrivethruRPG and RPGnow.

Got any questions? I'll be glad to answer them!

 

[As If]

Core Rules Reviewed at PointsOfLight

David Guyll of Awful Good Games, designer of A Sundered World as well as tons of great Dungeon World material, has written a mechanical overview and review of the DayTrippers Core Rules. You can find it on his blog, "PointsOfLight" under the title "DayTrippers: Core Rules Review".

It's always nice to have one's writing commended, and in Guyll's words "The writing is where the game really shines." You can check out samples from both the Core Rules and the GameMasters Guide to get a taste, at DayTrippersRPG dot com.

Breaking down the basics of the system, Guyll examines the core mechanics and provides a high-level explanation of how they work. This is a valuable service, and I wish more reviewers would take a look at mechanics - it really helps in the decision-making when you're trying to find a game that possesses not only the right genre, but also the right level of crunchiness and fluidity for your playgroup.

If the words "surreal science fiction" hit your buzzer, check it out.

 

[As If]

DayTrippers is a Best Seller!
DayTrippers - Best Selling Surreal SF RPG

That's what I get for not paying attention!

I've always preferred RPGnow to DriveThruRPG. I know they're the exact same content of course, I just like the color scheme better. But it was called to my attention today that there is one significant difference, and that's the Sales Metal/Medals. Turns out that your medals are calculated per site, not across the whole OBS system. So while I've been looking at RPGNOW all these months, I didn't even realize that the DayTrippers Core Rules had become a SILVER BEST SELLER at Drivethru! Similarly, the DayTrippers GameMasters Guide is a COPPER BEST SELLER there. And I didn't even know! Game designers: Remember to check both sites for all your products!

DayTrippers Core Rules
http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/142287/DayTrippers-Core-Rules

DayTrippers GameMasters Guide
http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/149053/DayTrippers-GameMasters-Guide